Barbara Kruger Responds to Supreme’s Lawsuit

The online streetwear community is buzzing about the court case that sees Supreme filing suit against Married to the Mob for $10 million, alleging that founder Leah McSweeney and her upstart brand is — in owner James Jebbia’s own words — “trying to build her whole brand by piggybacking off Supreme.” A Supreme lawsuit for copyright infringement is nothing if not ironic, considering that the co-opting of iconic logos has been a vital component of the New York skate brand’s playbook since its inception in 1994. (Some have resulted in cease-and-desist orders, like the L.A. Kings-inspired logo that incurred the wrath of the Kings organization a few years back.) Supreme’s own red box logo is derived from the work of famed conceptual artist Barbara Kruger, who’s historically remained tight-lipped about the commercial appropriation of her designs. Until now. Complex reached out to Kruger — who now teaches at UCLA — for a comment about the recent Supreme lawsuit against Leah McSweeney and Married to the Mob, and what they received was a blank email with the following note attached: